The Sleepless Forest - A Rumbelle Tale
by BerryNiceShady
Summary: A quest for answers which doesn't end as planned...


**_The Sleepless Forest_**

**_A Rumbelle Tale_**

By Berry Shady

_Warning: this text probably contains English mistakes. Forgive the wee Frenchspeaker I am about this, will you? ^^_

_**Chapter one: Packing for a mysterious journey**_

* * *

Rumple, shouting: « And don't touch that! »

Belle, nodding: «OK, right. I…just…wanted to help you pack for that mysterious journey of yours. »

Rumple, in mocked politeness: « I got it, I thank you. »

Rumple: « Now, give it a break, none of this is your business. Your business is cleaning the Dark Castle! How many times do I have to… »

Belle: « Why wearing this ragged cloak anyway? How could such a torn thing be of any help in this quest of yours? »

Rumple, rolling his eyes in exasperation: « All magic comes with a price. What kind of magic have I performed to deserve such a nosy maid? »

Belle, matter of factly: « Maybe that's the price of that pendant you stole from that witch… »

Rumple, blasé: « Oh, Maleficent will certainly be angry when she notices her precious Eye of Odin is gone. But she wouldn't unleash such a curse on me for that sole reason, dearie! »

Belle, not impressed: « Rude again…And what is that Eye supposed to do anyway? »

Rumple: « Not only nosy…mouthy too… »

Belle: « Sorry, it's just you are taking such uncommon stuff with you: a staff, a pendant, a torn cloak…and an anxious look upon your face… »

Rumple, shouting again: « I'm NOT anxious, dearie…I'm concentrated. »

Belle, unconvinced: « Whatever…What about the rest? »

Rumple, exasperated: « If I tell you, will you finally leave me alone and go back to dusting my collection? »

Belle, smiling: « Deal. »

Rumple, trying hard not to smile a bit at this: « The Eye of Odin is now a pendant but it used to be a real eye, sacrificed by a god, Odin, in exchange for wisdom. With time and magic, this piece of flesh turned into a pendant and acquired incredible powers of wisdom, a wisdom which protects any craziness to take root in you. »

Belle: "But why would you need such a thing?"

Rumple: "Aww, I thought it was pretty…NAH! Because I need its protection for the journey I'm about to make."

Belle: "The place must be dangerous…"

Rumple: "Very…"

Belle: "If it's so dangerous, why going there?"

Rumple: "Because I've no choice."

Belle immediately recognized that look upon his face. She had only seen it once in the past…

Belle: "Does it have something to do with your son?"

Rumple, amazed: "How do you…?"

Belle: "Because of that look upon your face, a kind of distant sadness I only saw it there once. When we discussed your son's most unfortunate fate."

Rumple: "Nosy, mouthy and much too observant for her own good…"

Belle, smiling: "So…Why is it so important that you go where you want to go?"

Rumple took a deep breath before facing her, his eyes showed he really wanted to share this secret but didn't know if he could trust her or not. Then, capitulating, he decided to answer her question: "I happen to have the power of seeing things, things which belong to the past, present or future."

Belle nodded quietly.

Rumple: "But, you see, every power has its limits. My boy was taken into another realm, far away. The problem is there are many realms in existence. And I can't see where my boy is or will be when I intend to find him. I need to know that to create the curse which will reunite us."

Belle: "A curse?"

Rumple: "Irrelevant for now. What is relevant is that if I enter a place called the Sleepless Forest, I'll be able to give a kick to my seeing power and I'll finally get my answer."

Belle: "The Sleepless Forest? I read about it in a book at home. Everyone who enters this place doesn't stand a chance of getting out of it! There's something there, a power, which forces you to live all your fears, real or not, all your nightmares, all your pains over again. You go crazy before becoming the meal of the strange creatures which live there."

Rumple: "Which is why I need the Eye of Odin, dearie. And that torn cloak you despise so much, as if fashion was the ultimate goal of this quest…"

Belle: "But…What is it then?"

Rumple: "It was made by an old witch who was a collector…A collector of broken dreams and ambitions. She collected many, during many years before sewing the lot together into a cloak."

Belle: "Why would anyone do that?"

Rumple: "Because, you see, she found herself less unhappy when she could feel the despair of so many others. The old fool. She did it till the very last day of her life…"

Belle: "Or maybe being busy kept her sadness at bay, like you when you're spinning…"

Rumple, exasperated again: "OK, this conversation is over."

Belle: "Well…we got a deal and I haven't had the whole story yet, I'm afraid."

Belle was smiling but Rumple felt angry. She was just too shrewd, she understood too many things. She could see through him like no one before her. And that made him feel uncomfortable, vulnerable and well, slightly afraid of her. Because when someone knows so much about you, it could only end in death or in…No, he refused to even give it a thought!

Rumple: "Right then. You know where I'm heading, what I'll be wearing, what else would satisfy your unbearable curiosity?"

Belle: "Did you kill her?"

Rumple: "What? Who?"

Belle: "The sewing witch."

Rumple: "But of course, I did. Why would that even matter?"

Belle didn't answer but closed her eyes for a few seconds before asking: "Why would those rags protect you there?"

Rumple: "Because the spirits there will think I'm not worth their attention. They'll only perceive something moving but bearing so much pain, remorse and nightmares already that they'll believe their power can't affect me. They need to weaken you and, to do so, you must still have a sparkle of happiness within you. If they can't find this sparkle, you're safe. Voilà!"

Belle thought that, in this case, all he needed to do was to walk in there with only his good looks. Every cell of his little self seemed inhabited by despair. But she didn't dare tell him this to his face…

Belle: "And the staff with the bloodred orb? I doubt it's just an accessory, is it?"

Rumple, rolling his eyes: "Nah nah nah! Of course not, silly girl! That staff…"

Belle: "Another theft of yours isn't?"

Rumple, angrily: "I'm the Dark One, not a fairy godfather, remember?! Now, if I could carry on without being interrupted over details…"

Belle nodded, pursing her lips.

Rumple:" That staff will allow me to get some of the power of the Sleepless Forest to increase my seeing ability. Trying to use this power directly is much too dangerous and I would like to survive to be reunited with my boy."

Belle: "I thought you were immortal."

Rumple's eyes flashed. Belle understood he had no intention to elaborate.

Belle: "And you're certain it'll all work? I mean, it sounds very dangerous…"

Rumple, smirking: "Worried are we, dearie?"

Belle: "What if I am?"

Rumple was stunned by that.

He thought she would be happy because his death would mean freedom to her. She could go back to her life and her family, without any fear of being hunted down by a dark wizard for daring to have left.

Rumple was speechless. It took him quite a few seconds to answer: "Worry not! I'll be back soon."

He expected her to tell him to take his time or something of the sort. But instead, she hugged him and planted a kiss on his cheek, the way she did when he had spared Robin Hood's life.

His heart racing, Rumple thought that it was a blessing to be green-skinned right now. At least, she couldn't see how much he was blushing.

_**Chapter two: a darker power**_

* * *

Rumple left at dawn. Belle had wished him good luck but he wouldn't need luck. He would need determination. And the one thing he was so convinced he was incapable of: courage.

He poufed himself right at the edge of the Sleepless Forest. When he opened his eyes to get his first glimpse of the place, all he saw was darkness. Behind him, the sky was a perfect shade of blue. It was spring, birds were singing, children laughing some distance away, the whole world seemed full of joy, light, life and peace. And here sat the perfect counterpart of it, a parenthesis of complete desolation nested in the very heart happiness. With a sigh, he thought his life was exactly the other way around and he went back to facing what he knew best.

After he had checked all his accessories, as he had finally come to consider them, cursing Belle for that, he penetrated darkness. He knew himself very well protected and tried hard not to think about what Belle had told him: "And you're certain it'll all work?"

But already he felt the urge to run away from that strangest place. Here, black trees wore bloodshot eyes to better peer into your very soul. The ground, the rocks, everything was covered in varieties of reddish plants and flowers which all wore the same horrid eyes. Even the animals were no different and, from the snail to the wolf, they all seemed to be craving for a good meal.

Rumple gulped several times. He was the Dark One, shouldn't they be terrified by him? At least worried? Like Belle was… Belle…

He would have given much to be back to the Dark Castle already but, as he had told his maid, he had no choice. So he sat on a rock and started to say the incantation which would allow him to access the powers he needed. He had to do this, for Bae. That's when he noticed he was sweating, the kind of sweat which trapped both your whole body and your determination alike in an ice cold grasp.

He understood that as well protected as he thought he was against this forest power, he couldn't entirely escape it and would have to collect the required magic as quickly as possible.

To make it all work he knew he had to make a sacrifice: feeding the Forest on his own blood. So he slit his left wrist and let blood escape his body and form a pool on the ground.

The orb of the staff had to be black to secure the power he needed and, although he was getting weaker, it was definitely darkening. He felt relieved. He had done it. "Dangerous", Belle had said. It was nothing but a piece of cake for the Dark One. He closed his eyes a few seconds to appreciate the instant. Now, he was sure of it, he would find his boy at last.

That's exactly when he started thinking that nothing could happen and that he had already won that he heard his cloak being torn to shreds by the thorny tendrils of one of those watching flowers. One of his precious protections was down.

Fortunately, he still had the Eye of Odin. He just had to endure the Forest power a bit more and soon the orb would be as black as night. All he needed was to keep focused. But another worrying sound made itself heard: the Eye of Odin was cracking. Obviously, it wouldn't last much longer. He shot a look to the orb and its colour was finally perfect.

He rushed onto his feet and decided to hurry out of this hell. But unfortunately it was easier said than done.

You couldn't pouf yourself inside or outside that Forest and Rumple's legs were entangled in thorny tendrils and his wrist was still bleeding. Everything around him was turning greedier end greedier. Animals and plants alike started to growl and show their teeth. Rumple felt panic creeping under his very skin like poison.

The first bite of one of these hideous flowers brought him to his senses and he fought his way out of the reach of all those monstrous creatures, through the trees which were also trying to cling to him.

He was about to reach the edge of this twisted place when he heard the Eye of Odin fall into pieces. All his protective devices were now history.

The overwhelming power of the Forest hit him so hard it forced him onto the ground, leaving him no other choice than crawling his way out of the Sleepless Forest and into safety.

He was covered in sweat, his breath was rough, his heart, thumping, his sight, slightly blurred but he was holding the last of his "accessories", the staff whose orb was pitch black. He smiled weakly at the thought he could finally discover where Bae was or would be after the Dark Curse hit and after the Saviour broke it.

It took him a few minutes to get to his feet and was about to go away when he saw an old friend, waiting for him, perched on a tree like the vilest of vultures.

Rumple: "Hey dearie!"

Maleficent: "Hello, Rumple. You have looked better."

Rumple: "Why do I have the feeling you didn't come all this way from the Forbidden Fortress to enquire about my health?"

Maleficent: "Shrewd you are, Dark One. But maybe less than you think you are. Do you know, for example, what I used the Eye of Odin for?"

Rumple: "To acquire the wisdom not to challenge a wizard far more powerful than you maybe, dearie?"

Maleficent, grinning: "No, Rumple. As you just did, I used it, a lot, I should say, to collect what I needed in this ghastly place to create my sleeping curse. I used that device more than I can remember. I decided to stop using it not just because I had reached my goal but also because its powers were definitely wearing off. So, well, how long did it protect you Rumple?"

Rumple glared at her with a look of complete disgust upon his face.

Maleficent, laughing: "Really, dearie. If that trinket had meant anything to me, it would have been extremely well protected, especially against you, Dark One. Apparently, you were the one lacking wisdom this time. And now, you are cursed."

Rumple didn't like the sound of this at all and worry was spreading over his face.

Maleficent, still grinning: "Leaving the Forest only insures you not to be its prey. Well…not directly at least. But the panic in which it engulfed you will not leave you ever again, never, until your own pain drives you insane. Then, I'll come back for you, dear Dark One. For this pretty legendary dagger of yours to be precise. I'll gladly end your sufferings and become the Dark One myself. More power never hurts."

Rumple, angry: "So, this was all your doing. You knew I'd come here and be cursed. You planned it all?!"

Maleficent, laughing: "Aww, now, now, disappointed are we, dearie? You deserved this fate after all you have done, you have deserved it a hundred times, a thousand times! Why the tone of surprise?"

Rumple was stunned and felt dizzier and dizzier.

Maleficent: "Now, go. Go to say adieu to your little maid. Bring her the news that she'll soon be free again and that she really doesn't need to thank me for this. My pleasure."

Cackling, Maleficent turned into a dragon and flew away.

Rumple concentrated all his energy to pouf himself back to his castle. He felt scared that this bloody curse wouldn't allow him to go back home, that he might already be too weak to reach it. He focused hard, still clenching the staff in his hand.

He did use his magic but realized, gasping in horror, that it hadn't worked. Nothing in the scenery had changed one bit. He felt a new wave of panic crash onto him. He hated feeling weak and vulnerable. His power was the only way for people to respect him, because they feared the Dark One. If he reverted to his former self, this powerless coward…

Then he heard Belle's voice. He couldn't see her but he could hear her. He focused hard again and the surroundings changed progressively as if mist had just lifted. Belle was standing right in front of him and looked more worried than ever.

_**Chapter three and last: Curse and Love**_

* * *

It was a few days since Rumple had come back from the Sleepless Forest. He would refuse to speak about it.

The only time he had spoken several sentences in a row was when he arrived at the Dark Castle and had grabbed Belle's arm, shaking and shouting: "Where is the staff? Is the orb still black?"

He was still holding this staff. Belle couldn't therefor understand his confusion…It only took her a few seconds to answer him that everything was in order but apparently it was too long for Rumple who clang so hard on her arm that he hurt her.

He had told her he was sorry, a first. Under other circumstances, she would have teased him a bit about this fact but he looked so lost that she just didn't have the heart to do it.

He had then commanded her to get him a book of incantations. He had read them out loud and very fast, another first. When Belle had asked him what this was for, he only said one word: "protection".

Days were passing and Rumple spoke less and less but looked more and more agitated and yet completely lost in his thoughts. Belle knew he wanted more than anything to start working on the orb, anxious as he was to finally get his answer. But he just didn't, which wasn't normal. Belle put the staff and its orb in safety for later use. He didn't even seem to notice her doing that.

When he started shaking, mumbling incoherent sentences and sweating, Belle decided she needed to know what was wrong with him. She spent hours, day and night in the library, only stopping to prepare the meagre meals he hardly accepted to take now. She never stopped asking him what happened, what was wrong with him. She begged him to tell her if she could help, he wouldn't answer. He didn't seem to hear her. One day, she grew so desperate, she tried slapping him in his face, shouting him to say something, anything, that she didn't mind if he was rude or angry with her again. All in vain, she didn't get any reaction at all.

After ten days, Rumple started to scream in his sleep, always louder. She had noticed he had horrible nightmares since he had come back from the Sleepless Forest. But they only woke him up since then, leaving him drenched in sweat and trembling from head to toes.

Belle was losing hope; she had searched the whole library without any result. She was lost for solutions.

More days passed and Rumple was screaming and mumbling in his sleep, if this could still be called sleep. He didn't get any rest. He now refused to eat or to leave his bed. What a strange thing for such a sleepless soul to wish to stay in bed all the time, thought Belle. Then it hit her. Sleepless…he was sleepless like this cursed forest he had visited. Cursed…? Maybe that was it!

When he came back home he was clenching the staff but there was no trace of this horrible cloak or this pendant, the Eye of Odin. She rushed to the room in which Rumple had poufed himself back to the Dark Castle. She searched every inch of it and finally found what she was searching. A little shred of the cloak.

So, if the protection of the cloak had failed and apparently the Eye of Odin's too for some reason, he must have received a full blast of this forest magic. She became very aware of how lucky he was to still be alive.

Then she thought she had a funny definition of lucky. How lucky could this life be? He seemed to have lost himself entirely. And she was powerless to help him.

But, no, she wouldn't give up, she would find something. She just had to.

She carried on searching but Rumple's condition was constantly worsening.

Belle was either doing her very best to find a counter-curse or was guarding him in his own room, trying to soothe him. He was now very thin, wouldn't stop mumbling and when he finally found sleep, he would only too soon start shouting again. Belle thought he must have suffered quite a lot in his life to shout so much. One night though he seemed hardly conscious, the mumbling stopped. So did the shouting. But he was now crying all the time, without the smallest noise. Just a river of pain cascading down his unreactive face.

Belle couldn't bear it.

She missed those days when he shouted at her for this or that stupid reason. He had a bad attitude and was rude sometimes but at least he was himself. She then realized she didn't miss those days. She missed him. Cruelly.

She was terrified that he might die in the end. She was so afraid that she got close to his bed, sat down next to him and hugged him very tight. Without realizing it, she had started sobbing like she hadn't sobbed since her mother's death. She begged him not to abandon her, to stay with her. But as usual, it was as if she was addressing to a wall for all the good it did.

She felt how cold he was and started cuddling him softly to warm him up but without success. She then approached her face to his. He didn't look like himself at all like that. This felt like a stab in her heart. She refused to lose him because she…

Did she really? Yes, she was sure of it now, she loved him. And she had to tell him if his end was to occur soon.

Belle, sobbing: " Rumple, please try, fight, I know you can. You're the Dark One! No one can resist you. Please…I trust you. I… love you."

And she planted the softest of kisses onto his cheek. Then something strange happened. A wave of pure magic seemed to engulf the whole castle. She didn't dare moving. She thought she must have done something very wrong. Then, she felt Rumple stir. She looked at him, at his face, still a few inches away from her own.

He looked back and told her: "What do you think you're doing in my bedroom?"

She was so relieved that she hugged him tighter, almost suffocating him in the process, she gave him another kiss on the cheek before resting her cheek on his own for a few seconds. Rumple was less ice cold but he was totally frozen and had entirely forgotten how to speak.

Then Belle jumped out of his bed and announced him smiling and crying at the same time that she was going to prepare him a delicious breakfast. It took Rumple a few minutes to wrap his mind around what had just happened. He got up and understood he had been there for a while, which was a mystery to him. He took a long bath trying hard to understand the last events.

Then he went to the room where Belle usually served him his meals. He only felt how hungry he was when he smelled the delicious scents coming from this room. When he entered, he found her still smiling. She was very proud to tell him she had prepared him everything he liked.

Rumple, confused and sheepish: "What is the occasion?"

Belle: "You don't remember?"

Rumple: "Don't remember what exactly?"

Belle: "The curse. You…you were cursed when you came back from that Sleepless Forest. I told you it was dangerous."

Was he dreaming or Belle was chiding him?

Rumple: "Cursed you say…Don't remember a thing."

Belle: "Maybe it's better that way…"

Rumple: "Why is that? Don't tell me the orb…?"

Belle: "No, it's still pitch black and unshattered and the castle is still protected by your incantations."

Rumple: "Incantations?"

Belle nodded and decided not to get his attention on too much detail unnecessarily.

When Rumple entered the library, where he intended to work on the orb, he found it completely upside down. As if a tornado had penetrated the walls of his castle.

Rumple: "Belle! BELLE!" but he stopped shouting at once, feeling a sharp pain in his throat as if he had shouted his lungs out during hours. One more mystery he would need to solve.

Belle, looking worried: "I'm here, Rumple, please, don't shout."

Rumple: "Why is the library such a mess and why can't I shout without having a sore throat?"

Belle: "Ah, yes, the library. I haven't had the time yet to tidy it up after all my research…"

Rumple: "Your research…about what?"

Belle: "A way to break the curse."

Rumple, completely taken aback: "Why didn't you run away and leave me to my fate. It would have meant freedom for you!"

Belle: "You're right but I just couldn't turn my back on someone who needed my help."

Rumple was lost for words again. Before he could ask her more questions, she brought him the staff and promised him to come back with a hot beverage for his throat. He didn't have the heart to tell her he could actually solve this in a second, using his powers. He liked it to let himself being pampered a bit.

The last time Belle referred to the curse he had been under was when she asked him whether it was safe for him to use the orb. She was relieved to hear you couldn't be cursed twice by the power of that Forest because you weren't supposed to survive the first blast.

Rumple, on the other hand, gradually started remembering a few things, just a few flashes. He knew she had taken great care of him, he remembered the nightmares and the shouting. And Belle's teary face close to his giving him a kiss on the cheek.

He then understood, with a shock, what must have broken the curse. But as Belle decided to do as if Rumple had never been cursed and faced agonizing pain during days and nights, Rumple decided to do as if the curse's power had just worn off because of his own dark powers. He refused to think about any other reason. He actually ended up believing it.

Maleficent checked on Rumple a few days later, as she had told him she would. She expected to find him dying under the weight of his own regrets and mistakes. But, to her utmost disappointment, he was apparently safe and sound. She thought it was impossible, that he shouldn't have been able to escape that curse. Then she spotted Belle.

Maleficent smiled and thought this was very very interesting indeed. And their smiles and the look in both their eyes were worth a signed confession.

She knew someone who would be extremely interested in hearing about this. Before she turned into a dragon and headed for Regina's castle, she wondered what she would ask her in exchange for this precious piece of information…

**_The End_**

**_Please note that this fanfic is related to a painting I'm making and which will soon be available on _****_ , .com, on Youtube (Channel Berry Shady) or via Twitter: BerryNiceShady_**

**_Thanks ;)_**


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